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    A Shotgun Wedding: The Conflict Between Science and Religion Resolved
    A Shotgun Wedding: The Conflict Between Science and Religion Resolved
    A Shotgun Wedding: The Conflict Between Science and Religion Resolved
    Ebook129 pages1 hour

    A Shotgun Wedding: The Conflict Between Science and Religion Resolved

    By Philip S Radcliffe

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    About this ebook

    There is a long history of conflict between religion and science in the discussion of the creation of the earth and everything in it. In A Shotgun Wedding, author Philip S. Radcliffe examines this conflict and debunks the fallacy that there is not room for God in science.

    A Shotgun Wedding provides insights into the balance of God and science when discussing creation concepts. It reviews the reformed tradition of Christianity that presents an updated view of Christianity and discusses the major areas of the expansion of scientific knowledge. The study also details the three adjustments that must be incorporated in a new reformed theology, focuses on how creation seems to have been designed using the scientific insight of the last fifty years, and shows how the universe is an interactive system designed to bring humanity into a complex environment. It seeks to reconcile science with Christian faith.

    Radcliffe demonstrates how science and the continuing quest for knowledge are God-given gifts from a Creator who designed the universe and enables human beings creative efforts to modify some portion of His design. Science, rather than opposing religion, provides mankind with a vehicle to appreciate just how dynamic His creation is and the humans role within it.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateNov 21, 2012
    ISBN9781475954074
    A Shotgun Wedding: The Conflict Between Science and Religion Resolved

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      Book preview

      A Shotgun Wedding - Philip S Radcliffe

      Copyright © 2010, 2012 by Philip S. Radcliffe

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      iUniverse

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4759-5409-8 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4759-5408-1 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4759-5407-4 (ebk)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012920213

      iUniverse rev. date: 11/08/2012

      Contents

      Introduction

      Book 1   A Primer on Reformed Christianity

      Book 2   A Scientific Baseline

      Book 3   The Dialectic Nature of Our Existence

      Book 4   The Randomness of Our Existence

      Book 5   Illustrations of Free Will in Our Existence

      Book 6   God’s Creation

      Book 7   Who Is My God?

      Book 8   God Is the Answer

      Book 9   Faith of Our Fathers

      Book 10   Agnosticism and Atheism

      Book 11   A Layman’s View

      Book 12   A New View of the Evidence

      Book 13   Epilogue: There Is a God

      Bibliography

      Introduction

      People start companies or write books for one of two reasons, sometimes both: they need money or they have a message. My message is direct. I believe it is more rational and probable that there is a Creator than that we are here as the result of multiple cosmic accidents of infinitely complex precision. The latter is basically the anthropic principle first postulated in 1974 by Brandon Carter, an Australian physicist and professor. This theory is based upon the appreciation of how finely tuned our physical universe is, thereby enabling intelligent life. The conclusion that there is an intellect and purpose behind our unique, or at least rare, existence is constantly debated. Given the new scientific knowledge of the last fifty years, those of us who believe in the Creator must update our theology to incorporate this new and revolutionary understanding of the physical world.

      The title of this book arises from an earlier time and culture in America. A shotgun wedding was a required union in which the groom had a choice: he could elect to make his little darlin’ an honest woman or get his head blowed off. The bride’s father was generally the authority who enforced the union. Today, this type of coerced relationship is frowned upon, and I certainly do not endorse taking up arms to make atheistic scientists change their beliefs. However, I do believe that science and religion require a necessary union of mutual advantage and mutual consideration.

      Based on things I’ve read, conversations with friends, and my own continuing quest for meaning in the experience of humanity, I am troubled by the way many scientists and academicians, even those in the humanities, publicly espouse and promote their vision that creation occurred without a Creator. Their concept of existence is of a cosmic accident with no guiding moral value or plan for our existence and future. I never believed that God is merely an alternative to eternal damnation. Like the character Purlie in the musical based on Ossie Davis’s work Purlie Victorious, I acknowledge that we need some comfort in the here and now. People do experience forms of heaven or hell during their lives on earth, and sometimes that experience is influenced by their personal behavior or mind-set. It is also true that many humans have either positive or negative life experiences that are not solely a consequence of personal choice, behavior, or attitude, which I will discuss in more detail later.

      One of my concerns about associating atheism with intellectual activity generally and science in particular is the Judeo-Christian tradition of the importance of the book. Learning gave authority to intellectual pursuits even as man evolved into a being filled with awareness and communication skills instead of one who merely existed at the top of the food chain. The cynical sophistication of intellectual atheism engenders disrespect for the intellectual in many communities and cultures. Most dog lovers have low esteem for a domesticated pet that bites the hand that feeds it. Many people who earn their living in prosaic pursuits may develop low esteem for academics who accept income, even indirectly, from workers paying tuition for their children’s education. Conversely, intellectuals dismiss the working community as ignorant. There is a need, perhaps, for someone to act as the father of the bride and wield the shotgun that forces these groups to get together.

      Despite continuing market upheaval, I hope that I am able to remain retired with sufficient time to reflect, recall, and record my vision of life. My first book was a memoir about growing up in the Midwest and surviving as an entrepreneur in the high-tech computer industry from 1959 through 2000. My particular expertise was in the field of real-time data acquisition and control, employing computers to monitor and control industrial operations. This background accounts for my respect for science and engineering. I was also my own bean counter, lawyer, and salesman. During my fifty years in business, I have started companies and served as a mentor, early-stage investor, supporter, and director of start-up companies. At least five of the operations still exist either as independent entities or as parts of other organizations. I am still involved with two of the companies and sit on the board of directors of another, an NYSE-traded firm. In my memoir, I spent considerable time exploring my belief in God and continuing my education in science.

      In my life, I have encountered Young Earth Creationists who believe that the world is six thousand years old because the Bible, as the literal word of God, lays out generations of begets that add up to that amount. Some of these creationists have college degrees in engineering and have been exposed to mathematics and physics. Some have consulted on major engineering projects around the world. Conversely, I also know scientists of significant international accomplishment who recommend Richard Dawkins or other atheist writers and skeptical materialists as authorities on religious faith. The members of each of these groups usually begin discussions about their positions by discounting alternative points of view.

      Young Earth Creationists deny the accuracy of science while skeptical materialists deny the reality of any force beyond physics and chance. I believe these apparently irreconcilable positions must be synthesized in a shotgun wedding to ensure our continued presence in the universe. Science and knowledge without consideration of a greater purpose or morality seem to lead to an inevitable increase in the probability of self-destruction as well as our ability to create greater creature comfort on the road to perdition. An attempt to limit knowledge, by limiting exposure to factual expansion that defies some traditional lore, will lead to a weakening of at least military and economic strength and ultimately a loss of credibility. It is also my observation that as our knowledge expands with time and effort, our world becomes more dangerous even as the potential for greater life fulfillment is increased.

      The first five chapters of this book are an attempt to set the table. I begin with a brief review of the reformed tradition of Christianity, emphasizing the reformed tradition because it is the theology with which I am most familiar and because it is an updated view of Christianity, which incorporates most belief predating Luther but modifies those tenets to include more recent adjustments. Next, I discuss the major areas of the expansion of scientific knowledge. From there, I move to the three adjustments that I believe must be incorporated in a new reformed theology.

      I focus on how creation seems to have been designed, given the scientific insight of the last fifty years. The universe is a remarkably interactive system that was designed to bring humanity into an environment of inestimable complexity. The reconciliation of science with faith, specifically Christian faith, indeed Christian evangelical faith, has had and will continue to have a fundamental impact on humanity’s survival.

      Book 1

      A Primer on Reformed Christianity

      I support the school that considers the Bible to be a living text, one that was inspired by God and written, miraculously, by men of limited sophistication, scientific learning, or historical perspective. Nevertheless, they captured divine truth in the scriptures that was relevant not only to their time and culture but also to all times and cultures, including ours today.

      The tradition of apostolic succession, which is part of Roman Catholic and Anglican doctrine, limits interpretation of biblical text to those who have been trained and certified as priests. As head of these respective churches, the pope or archbishop speaks with ultimate theological authority regarding the interpretation of the scriptures. Over the millennia, papal authority has significantly affected our definition of the scriptures with consequences for both Protestants and Catholics. For example, under the authority of the pope, Saint Jerome determined which books would be included within the Bible and which books would be regarded as heretical. The translation of the Holy Library known as

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